July 29, 2011

Review "The Old Prophecy Of Winterland" in Brutalism Webzine (English)

For those who might suspect that 'The Old Prophecy Of Winterland' is going to be another Immortal or cold slab of black metal that is full of tremolo picking and drums at full blast within a wall of sound that sounds llke listening to a snowstorm, think again. Frozen Dawn's debut is actually a clean and catchy record that draws in influences like Satyricon and Darkthrone (they even do a Satyricon cover of "Fuel For The Hatred") as far as going for more of a punk or black n' roll style. It isn't rough at all and just features a lot of great riffs and hooks, all the way from the opening "Cold Winds" which sounds like a thrash inspired track to the well followed cover of Satyricon. Frozen Dawn aim for a mid paced snarl to follow the pace of the music that oddly enough sounds quite a bit like the Satyricon cover they perform (listen to "The Order Of The Wintermoon" or "Winds From The North" and one will notice a very similar pattern of sound as far as the riffs go). In fact, this music could very well be passed off as recent Satyricon if it wasn't for the vocals which have a bit more of a growl than a snarl. So black rock n' roll fans will definitely find this appealing if they liked music from the 'Black Lava' days and onward. Frozen Dawn may not have Frost behind the kit, but the music still grooves.
Other tracks like "Calm Before The Storm" and "Winds From The North" tend to slow down a bit and even though they feature a lot of fast riffs that seamlessly flow together, the backing guitar chords really drag the music on a bit. This slow, churning pace overall actually will sound quite pleasant as far as those who are looking for catchy, thrash inspired black metal with a bit of a rock edge rather than just full blown speed all the time. "The Old Prophecy Of Winterland" is actually the heaviest track on the album as it features the drums beating the kit a lot faster than usual and the usual standard tremolo picking from the guitars. It trades groove and rhythm for speed and power, though some fans might find this not as appealing because it sounds a bit more generic than the more even paced tracks. Then the album closes on "Fuel For The Hatred," which- as said before- sounds exactly like the original, just with a cleaner, louder sound. By covering this track, though, Frozen North really make their statement of the band(s) they try to follow, so in a way they risk alerting fans directly from the start to let them know where they want to go. Some people have really disliked Satyricon for their black rock n' roll style as opposed to their more organic, folk inspired earlier works, but Frozen North do more than just generic work. By adding in the rhythms and punk rock style of Darkthrone and combining it with the hard rhythms of bands like Satyricon or even Khold, they can keep fans interested without the fallout of keeping the tracks to only a few repeated riffs over and over.